Latest official news

[Raymond]

I have just received the latest official news from hayleywestenra.com. Hayley told us about her tours.

Also, the email includes a lovely picture.


Cheers,
Raymond

[roger]

Here is the "text only" version of the newsletter to which Raymond referred, with thanks to hayleywestenra.com

A NOTE FROM HAYLEY

Hi everyone!

...and you thought I'd forgotten about you!! I'm in sunny Manchester (UK) at the moment. Well, actually the weather's pretty grim, but I'm looking on the bright side -it's not raining! I'm here for the BBC Proms in the Park, which will commence in a few hours. My Dad, who's travelling with me at the moment, and my Manager, Steve, have gone off to get some dinner, leaving me all by myself in my trailer...actually, I'm really appreciating the peace and quiet. It gives me a chance to gather my thoughts in preparation for tonight's show...a rare luxury!

As I'm sure you are aware, my album Odyssey is out and about in a number of countries -so far, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea...and a few more! -which has given me the much-appreciated opportunity of doing a bit of travelling and also meeting some of you at in-store signings and other various things! A big thank you to all of you who have bought the new album and are supporting me! I'm thrilled with how the album has shaped up and I really hope that you all enjoy it.

Before I had to start doing promotion for the NZ release of my album, I spent a week at home in Christchurch with my family and also managed to squeeze in a road trip down to Dunedin to catch up with my friends attending university down there. Time went way to quickly as usual! But even when I was working, just being back in my home country made the work feel more like leisure.

I then moved on to Australia -Sydney and Melbourne - where I performed on some TV shows, such as Good Morning Australia, talked on radio and chatted to some local journalists. It was also a real highlight for me when I got to perform and meet you all at the two instores! Big thanks goes to my talented musical duo, Fiona and Ian, who accompanied me on the trip.

We then all jetted off to the crazy, but lovely, city of Hong Kong! I had a day to recover (which I mostly spent lying in bed! -Oh, the luxury...) before I was kept busy talking and singing for the rest of my stay! I had a lot of fun singing at Festival Walk, no time to shop unfortunately, but meeting you all made up for that!

Japan was just as I left it a couple of months back! My 4th visit this year can you believe! I started out in Tokyo, then went down to Nagoya for a rehearsal, got stuck in a typhoon for 6hrs coming back (which should have been a 2hr train journey!), then travelled back down a couple of days later for the two Expo shows with LEEO. The show was incredible...rich in both colour and sound. I sang four songs: a vocalise of 'Air on a G String'; a song I wrote the lyrics for, where the music was written by LEEO's Musical Director and two songs in Japanese!! But the stars of the show were LEEO -a locally-based orchestra (although they were joined by a group from Indonesia) who had studied the traditional bamboo instrument for around 6 years!! For them, this was their big grand finale show after years of rehearsals...so there were a lot of sad faces when it was all over!

I then had to make a mad dash over to LA for three days, before returning to beautiful Singapore. I fortunately had a day off to recover, but was unable to do any sightseeing due to the rain. Not to worry, we were pretty close to one of the biggest malls in Asia (or possibly the biggest). There were rows upon rows of shops and the mall was teaming with people as it was a Sunday after all. This was my chance to shop til I dropped. But, at the end of the day, all I had bought was a bottle of water and some (delicious) dried seaweed. How restrained am I?! Or more truthfully, how crazy am I?!

Anyhow, I was back to London on the Monday and performing at a Universal Sales Conference on the Wednesday. I had the opportunity to visit the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Centre the following day, which was a very insightful experience. This was my second visit to a music therapy centre, the first being the Raukatauri Centre in Auckland, which I am now a patron of, co-founded by my good friend Hinewehi Mohi. The improvement that the children and adults make there can be quite dramatic and very heart-warming. The Nordoff-Robbins approach to music therapy is based on the belief that everyone can connect to music and I truly believe that rings true. The approach is very gentle and instinctual. Through music, the therapists manage to find a connection with the clients who seem to have walled themselves in and withdrawn from the outside world. Music is what finds it's way through that wall and connects them to the outside world. It seems music really is a universal language.

Better sign off before this update turns into an entire novel! Take care!

Hayleyx

[Natasha]

Thanks to both you guys for putting that here - Hayley, as usual, sounds amazingly sweet and down to earth!

Sounds like she's having fun even if it is hard work.

[roger]

Hi Natasha,

I think that is how Hayley sees it too. It is certainly very hard work but she always says how much she is enjoying it and that comes across whenever you meet her. And the fun that she has seems to be infectious. The world would be a better place if it became pandemic!

Roger

[Joe]

Hi all,
Thanks Raymond for the picture (yes, it IS a very lovely picture!) and also to Roger for the text.

Hayley has made a mad dash around the world recently, hasn't she?

"...and all her paths are peace."

Joe

[Richard]

Hello everybody!

I've just received Hayley's newsletter by email as I'm on her mailing list, and it makes very interesting reading. It's easily the longest one she's ever written, and it shows how much Hayley is enjoying her career. One thing that comes across is that Hayley really enjoys getting to know her fans, and cares about us. Of course, that works both ways!

Thank you Raymond for posting the lovely picture of Hayley to share with everybody.

If you're reading this Hayley, many thanks for a wonderful newsletter! i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

Best Wishes from London,

Richard

[Lothar]

Hi Raymond and Roger,
many thanks for the e-mail and the photo fo Hayley.
cu Lothar